


Creating ties

by HikariYumi



Series: MCU KinkBingo [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Conversations, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, D/s elements, Dom Phil Coulson, First Dates, Implied past bad relationships, M/M, Military, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Phil Coulson teaches a shibari course, Rope Bondage, Shibari, Smalltalk, Sub Clint Barton, and, implied mental health issues, mentionings of, very brief mentions only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 06:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13631037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariYumi/pseuds/HikariYumi
Summary: Clint struggles to call Phil back, even if Natasha proves to be quite convincing. In the end Clint does get to his date.





	Creating ties

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back.  
> This part of the ‘verse can be read on its own, but that would make it a bit more boring. :)
> 
> This also is not beta read yet, but since I still wanted to upload as much as I can before the MCU KinkBingo concludes...
> 
> Nothing kinky happens here... that has to wait for the last instalment, I’m sorry.  
> Also, conversations are hard, that’s why Clint has to struggle with it on my behalf :)
> 
> Hope you have fun anyways~  
> ~Hikari

Clint sighed deeply and frustratedly tossed his phone on to the other side of the bed. He just couldn’t do it.  
The last three days Natasha hadn’t stopped pestering him about finally calling their teacher from the shibari course they had attended the week before, but he still was too nervous to follow through.

This lunch break Natasha had given Clint a piece of his mind for his scaredy cat behaviour and threatened to make him do it with force if he wouldn’t manage it until the next day.  
And while that was definitely an effective way to make Clint do something, his stomach was still in knots when he typed in once again the number that had been scribbled down neatly on the note.

Swallowing one last time he hit dial and wished silently that Phil wouldn’t answer.  
To equal parts disappointed and relieved, Clint straightened as the calm voice sounding through the speaker.

“Phil? Um yes, of course it’s you.”  
Clint shook his head and tried to gather some comprehensive thoughts.  
“It’s me, um Barton. From last week.”  
Would Phil even remember him anymore? Surely there’d been other courses with other people since them. He should’ve called sooner, Natasha had been right.

“Ah, Clint. I’m glad you decided to call.”  
There was a smile in those words, no hidden accusation or something similar. Not that he had thought Phil would do that. Making him feel bad about calling late, that is.  
“Me too.”

At his little honest slip-up Clint couldn’t help than press his eyes shut in shame.  
“Well, I wasn’t sure if I would hear from you again, but I’ve hoped.”  
Clint kept silent, unsure what to say.  
“But I can’t say I haven’t planned for the case you do. So, even if it might feel a bit presumptuous, what do you think about meeting me for coffee?”

How was that presumptuous in any kind? With a suddenly dry mouth Clint jerked his head in agreement before he managed to add a croaky “sounds good”.  
A beat of silence from the other end of the line and then a careful “alright then, when would it work best for you?”

“Uh, I’m usually free around lunch, or Saturday maybe? Or are you giving a course then? I’m not sure.”  
Clint quickly forced his mouth shut as soon as he noticed that he’d started babbling, hoping that Phil wouldn’t mind that.  
Fortunately the man didn’t comment on that and instead hummed quietly, most likely going over his own schedule.

“Lunch would work for me as well, but I don’t want to intrude your breaks. I think Saturday might be more comfortable?”  
“Yes you’re right. Not that I would mind meeting you at break, but yeah. Um, maybe around three then? There’s a cafe across from the mall...”

Phil let out an agreeing sound. “I know which one you mean, let’s do that.”  
“Um. Awesome. Great. See you on Saturday then?”  
This was so awkward, the whole conversation made Clint feel wrong footed for some reason eventhough it hardly was the first time he met someone for coffee.  
“I’m looking forward to it. Good bye, Clint.”  
“Bye.”

The phone was tossed away once more and the man let out a deep sigh. This could’ve been worse. Better too, but that wasn’t the point.  
Natasha would be proud of him, or at least not annoyed anymore. Clint would take what he could get in this case.

-

“Congrats” Natasha commented drily after Clint described the last days phone call. “Thought I would have to dial the number for you. As funny it is to watch your attempts of smoothness, I’ve got better things to do.”  
Despite the mocking tone, he was aware that his friend was happy for him. Clint had learned early on, back when they’d still worked for the military, that Natasha’s way to show affection was a bit special. He didn’t mind, he was special in some regards as well.

“Now just don’t fuck it up, this guy seemed like a good one.”  
Without having to say it Clint got the hint. He’s got a thing for choosing the wrong types of people, that’s been the reason to stay away from relationships for the last years.  
“I guess.” Clint offered and Natasha nodded. She understood, they were both not good with people but they’d started to try.

\- 

Saturday approached fast and before Clint knew it he was already putting on one of his good shirts in combination with his newest jeans.  
He didn’t really try to ‘dress to impress’ and instead wore the best he could find in his wardrobe.

Naturally he started to doubt his casual approach of this topic, when Phil arrived, dressed in a honest to god suit that made him look more like an office worker than a teacher for shibari.

“Hello Clint.” The man greeted warmly while sitting down on the other side of the table.  
“Hey” Clint answered dumbly and grinned in an attempt to compensate.  
“You’ve been here before? So said you knew this cafe?” 

Phil shook his head no and leaned back into the cushioned chair, looking relaxed.  
“No, I’ve just seen it when passing by, but I’ve only waited for an occasion to try it out.”  
Awkwardly Clint nodded before offering up some more information to get the ball rolling: “I’ve been here with Natasha a few times for lunch. At times canteens can get dull I guess.”

“So you two work together?”  
The moment Clint opened his mouth to answer one of the waitresses stopped at their table asking if they wanted to order yet. Phil quickly glanced at the menu and decided to go with a simple black coffee and Clint went with his usual sweetened cup of the same.

“Where were we? Ah yes, Natasha and me met years ago and after we left the military decided to go job-hunting together.”  
It wasn’t as easy as he made it sound, obviously not. Both he and Natasha had been seriously screwed up even before they’d enlisted but working in the special forces tended to make matters worse.  
The months after they’d both been honourably discharged had been tough. They’d spend more time together than apart, knowing each other’s wounds and tried to help each other heal. Eventually they’d gotten better, if the wounds closed or if they just got better shoving it away wasn’t sure and they didn’t really care anyways.

“I see” Phil nodded, eyes never leaving Clint. “I’ve been with the rangers, bonds you tie there are strong.”  
So he had his own Natasha as well. For some reason the thought made him go warm, Phil understood the life, at least a chunk of it. That was... reassuring.

“And we both sure love our ties.”  
That earned Clint a chuckle from the older man and fascinatingly he could see the skin around Phils eyes crinkle.  
“I know I do, I can only guess about you though.”

There they go. Clint used his arriving coffee to give his hands something to fumble with.  
“And what’s your guess?” A certain curiosity along with his usual amount of weariness settled in his stomach. Other people’s guesses about yourself were a great way to gain insight into their personality.

“It was obvious that you enjoy the role as the bound partner more than being the rigger. And Natasha informed me about why you’ve attended the course in this position. The fact that you wanted to learn shibari even without being in a relationship shows that you’re interested and maybe even intrigued by the concept.”  
Clints breath hitched a bit but gave his best not to let on how surprised he was that Phil apparently had thought about him.  
“And while you didn’t say anything when I asked last week if anyone had experiences, your later statements indicate that you’ve tried out bondage before.”

Blushing a bit at the true words Clint confirmed those suspicions. Those calm eyes lingered on him, not pressuring, just taking him in.  
“Why” he quickly cleared his throat “why did you give me your number?” This was a question that had haunted him since that day, he just couldn’t find a satisfying answer and Natasha had just waved him off with an eye roll.

Phil tilted his head to the side.  
“Why do you think I did it?”  
He sounded honestly curious but answered nevertheless when he only earned a shrug.  
“Because I found you interesting and because I thought you wouldn’t be opposed to an evening with me. Or just more private lessons about shibari.”

Clint wasn’t sure what to do with those statements and waited to see if Phil would say something else. He seemed to understand and continued: “It was just a guess at first, but when you drifted a bit while bound I was pretty sure that you enjoy and maybe even miss it. I understand if you aren’t interested in that or don’t trust me enough for this kind of thing. But that you called let me hope, I’ve to admit that.”

“If I wouldn’t have trusted you enough, I wouldn’t have let you put me into the tortoise shell last week.”  
“You wouldn’t have.”  
While Phil made it sound like he was agreeing, something in the mans face made Clint halt.  
“So yeah, I like to sub, have done it for a while, sometimes with or without bondage. If that’s something you wanna know.”

A soft nod, encouraging Clint to go on, those intense eyes focused solely on him.  
“And sure, I would like to do it again, but I’m not sure how much I can do.”  
Deciding to not specify what Clint thought he couldn’t do, he fell silent again, wondering what Phil would think about that.  
“That’s what I thought. And to be clear, Clint, even if you decide this isn’t something you are comfortable doing, I would still very much like to get to know you a bit. As I said, I find you interesting.”

A tad self-conscious Clint rubbed the back off his neck, he hadn’t heard that too often.  
“Uh, good to know. Um, thanks, i guess? I thought I could like you as well.”  
Again Phil gave him one of those calm smiles, not wise or even that prominent, but radiating enough warmth to make Clints stomach feel tingly.

To conceal his sudden embarrassment, he took a long sip of his cooling coffee. Only then he realised that he wasn’t sure if he’d really answered to Phils question.  
“Um, i would like to. To try with you I mean.”  
“I’m honoured to hear that, Clint.”

And damn if that didn’t let him shiver, how did Phil do that?  
“Good, how do we do... that then?”  
Clint half expected to go home with Phil after they’d finished their coffee, that’s how it usually went. Well, normally Clint knew the people longer before he actually moved on to the kinky stuff.

The other man chuckled quietly: “As much as I appreciate your eagerness, I think it would be best to let today end like this. We can meet another time to figure out the specifics, likes and dislikes, the usual. If we would start right now I would be worried about jumping into things. I think we both need a bit to think and figure out a few things so we can start with a bit more distance.”

That was actually a nice thing in Clints opinion. He would never have thought about that possibility himself, after all he was notorious for jumping into things in is civil life.  
Natasha had been right, Phil seemed like good people and he really believed his friends judgement. In the end she has always been right about those things.

“Yeah. I get that. Maybe Friday evening? I’m off after four so if you don’t have any work to do?”  
Clint twirled the empty mug between his hands, mentally reminding himself to look up the next dates for workshops on Phils website.  
“Friday is fine with me, if you want to come over around seven then we can talk things over over dinner.”

He was quick to nod, not really worried about going to a nearly strangers flat. If Phil turned out to be not as so friendly as he let on, Clint was positive to be able to keep a stand against him.  
“Deal. I just need your adress then?”  
Phil smirked.  
“I’ll text it.”

Clint frowned before he realised that Phil intended to use this as an excuse to engage a text conversation.  
“Don’t forget it!”  
“Rest assured that I won’t be able to.”

That night Clints phone chirped once, the illuminated screen showing an adress and four words:  
_‘I can’t wait.  
\- Phil’_


End file.
